We travel with our Dachshund extensively in the USA both by
driving and flying. As far as flying in the USA, check with
your carrier (some airline do not take in cabin pets!), get
a Sherpa Bag--soft-sided carrier, have your vet check the
pet out just before you leave making sure you receive from
the vet a certificate that his shots are unexpired (take the
pets rabies certificate with you too) that the pet is in
good health, both internal and external pest free and "OK"
to fly.

If you're going to be away for a bit, before you fly home go
to a local vet and repeat the above. No problem. The in-
cabin pet ticket should be reserved when you reserve your
ticket as there are an extremely limited amount of in cabin
pets allowed--one to two, again depending on the airline.
When traveling internationally, things are a bit more
involved but it can be done as we are leaving with our Doxie
the end of July for 3 months in Europe.

We are flying into Amsterdam as the flight is the shortest
from NYC to mainland Europe. There is no quarantine for
pets but you must have the proper documentation. Go to the
countries web site that you will be flying in to and check
with the Embassy. I found the Netherlands to be the
easiest.

While they do not require that we have an International
Health Certificate for him, we will have one! The do prefer
the EU Pet Passport which can be downloaded from the
countries web site. Since we are coming from the USA it
only requires that our pet be chipped (ISO standard 11785)
which he is and the relevant rabies information. The shot
must given be no less than 21 days (I prefer that it be no
less than 30 days because that seems to be the constant
with other countries) and not expire prior to your
departure. To return to the USA, all that is required is
that the rabies vaccination is still unexpired and I prefer
to once again go to a local vet at the end of our trip and
have them fill out a form that shows our Doxie is in good
health, internal and external pest free, etc.

When entering the USA I produce all the information
including the International Certificate which shows all of
his shots, chip, etc. If you go to the APHIS web site you
can locate the nearest certified USDA official in the USA
which will stamp/endorse the International Certificate
filled out by your vet.

Also, when you contact the APHIS Office to make an
appointment--I schedule the appointment at least 2 to 3
weeks before--ask them to give you the telephone number of
the Public Health Office related to APHIS. This office
will give you any and all information concerning your
return to the USA from an international destination with
your pet.

Remember that each country has its own requirements! When
we brought him with us to the Bahamas this New Year he
needed a special shot (Leptospirosis) and a permit too!

Sounds involved but if you do your homework you'll have no
problems. The most important thing is to have your pet LOOK
healthy when you arrive at your destination, be it Europe
or back home! Therefore, I even have the vet add to his
travel documents that it is OK for him to be administered a
small sedative to help with the flight! This way as we
pass through customs, if he isn't quite awake yet, the
officials will understand that it's just his sedative
wearing off! As a final note, we don't take him with us to
the British Isles because it's even more involved with
their new PET Policy.